Want Your Lawn To Look Best With Easy Maintenance
A good, well-maintained lawn is the
perfect green cake for colorful herbaceous Icing, a great setting for summer
picnics and even a foraging ground for birds and other wildlife. We show you
how to keep your lawn looking its best all year round.
How to keep your lawn Evergreen
Regularly mowing your lawn will help promote lush,
green growth. Weed regularly and sow seeds into bare patches to get them
growing again. Use stored rainwater and greywater to water your lawn in dry
summers to stop it going brown. Spike the turf with a fork to aerate trampled
areas to help bring them back to life, and rake out dead growth in autumn to
maintain a lush, greensward.
1. Remove weeds, thatch, and moss
These pesky items can prevent growth by blocking air
and nutrients from getting to the roots.
These can appear anywhere as there are so many ways
they can be brought into the garden, by birds flying over, pets and other
animals roaming across the grass or even on your clothing and footwear.
Lawn weeds can
grow as either seed heads or flowers, with a wide variety of types that are
common in lawns.
The easiest option is to pull out the whole weed,
roots included. This can be done
by hand or using a tool, however, if there is a large quantity try
spraying the weeds directly with a
low toxicity herbicide.
2.
Improve
drainage
Lawns with poor drainage often become waterlogged
for hours or even days. This can lead to other complications for the health of your lawn if drainage is not improved.
The two most common causes of water build-up are
the soils ability to absorb the water and the landscaping
of the garden.
Soil permeability
High levels of clay in the soil, thick areas of
thatch, soil compaction and layers of roots can all contribute to the prevention of
water absorption.
Depending on the extent of the problem, aeration can
improve the flow of water and air to reduce surface build-up.
Alternatively, changing the nature of your soil can
assist in getting the desired drainage levels. This can be done either by using
suitable plants for the existing soil type or gradually adjusting the soil
with organic materials.
Garden topography
The shape of your garden should naturally drive
water away from the house with a shallow, level slope. Any dips can allow water
to pool in one spot, which can damage the grass and roots. It is important that
you try to prevent waterlogging in
your garden.
When this occurs fitting gutters and drains to
direct excess rainfall away from the lawn, adding a selection of wet plants
that thrive in water or re-shaping the area and adjusting the gradient are
effective ways to improve the drainage.
3.
Aerate
This process allows better penetration of air and
water to the root zone of the grass, which is essential for gaining the right
nutrients to grow. It is a good way to manage lawns that are affected by
drought or waterlogging.
Aeration is
performed by creating small holes in the soil at certain intervals and depths,
and can be done using a garden fork or specially made tools and machines - even
aerating shoes are available.
For most gardens, this will only need to be done once
every few years. Small patches of lawn can also be treated individually if
required.
4.
Over-seeding
Over-seeding rejuvenates tired and worn out lawns by
covering the entire space with large quantities of seed mixed with fertilizer. This fills in damaged and thinning
areas, whilst improving the color and reducing the chance of weed and moss
invasions.
Before the seeds can be applied the lawn will need
to be scarified or aerated, mowed and well-watered. Spreaders are available to buy to
help get an even distribution of seeds.
Once seeded the lawn will need to be kept moist to
encourage germination and top dressing will need to be added to protect the seeds and provide
nourishment.
This can be performed annually to maintain a healthy lawn.
5.
Mowing
and edging
When mowing
your lawn it is best to only remove one-third of the grasses
length. How often you need to mow will depend on the time of year and current
weather conditions.
When the weather is colder, especially during frost,
the amount of mowing required will be reduced. Summer mowing becomes more frequent with the warmer weather
as the grass will begin to grow quicker.
Avoid mowing when the soil or grass is wet as this
can cause damage to the lawn and prevent healthy growth in the future. If you
have a mower with a roller, the direction of mowing will need to be alternated
each time.
Borders and edges can
also, be maintained and tidied using a half-moon edging tool or edging shears
after mowing.
6.
Feeding
and watering
There are a variety of grass feeds and fertilizers available from most
gardening shops. The type required will depend on the existing soil and weather
in your location. Most of these will have recommended instructions for
application, so it is best to follow their guidelines for the product.
Generally, it is advised to treat twice yearly, once
in the spring with a nitrogen-rich
lawn feed and once in the autumn with a fertilizer with high levels of phosphate and potash.
Alongside feeding, watering is essential to all lawns. A lawn lacking water will
start to change color and lose its spring, causing the grass to stay flat if
walked on.
The amount and frequency of watering will again
depend on the type of soil and weather conditions in your location. As you also
do not want to overwater.
It is best to water the lawn at the beginning of the
day in cooler temperatures to get better results. If needed seek professional
Help.
7.
Top
dressing
This is used to build up and improve the quality of
the existing soil, providing additional drought resistance and drainage, whilst
evening out any imperfections.
As with all other maintenance, the soil type for your the garden will need to be checked in order to get the correct materials and
consistency when creating your top
dressing.
Using these top tips to regularly check and maintain
your lawn along with removing any unwanted surface debris such as dead leaves
and twigs, and cutting back any areas that create excess shade, will keep your
lawn looking lush and healthy. If it looks difficult to maintain, seek Professional Help.
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